Literature THROUGH film

Famous Adaptation Book to films

The Lord of the Rings
To Kill a Mockingbird
Pride and Prejudice
The Silence of the Lambs
Harry Potter
The Shawshank Redemption
he Godfather
Jurassic Park
LongWalk to Freedom - Mandela
Great Dictator – Original Screenplay by Charles Chaplin
Life is Beautiful – In the End, I beat Hitler
 Concepts
Adaptation – fidelity vs creative reimagining
Films, musicals, plays, historical events, other media (comic books, video games)

multidisciplinary approach

Is the adaptation relevant to the source?

What is the final product of a film?

Cultural context
Audience and film
Knowingness of the text

“films show, whereas novels tell; in fact, films must show to keep the
audience invested in the characters and the story.”

Sound and music used in the film

Adaptation and rewriting

Economic dimension
 Appropriation
Auteur
Infidelity vs fidelity
Intertextualization
Novelization
APPROPRIATION
 TO ADOPT OR BORROW
 "as an artistic strategy, the intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of
preexisting images, objects, and ideas“
 THEMES WILL BE RECONTEXTUALISED
 IMITATION OF OLD FILMS
 CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
 APPROPRIATION IS NOT PLIAGIARISM

 Eg: BATMAN, THE JOKER, DARK NIGHT

AUTEUR
 DIRECTOR AS THE MAIN STORY TELLER
 FILM IS SEEEN FROM DIRECTOR EYES
 EXPLORE THEME FROM BODY OF WORK
 DIRECTORS HAVE A SINGULAR STYLE
 USE MORE VISUAL LANGUAGE
AUTEUR DIRECTOR
INFIDELITY on film
 Making it look like you talk to audience

 Blocking Adjustments: Moving actors or props in ways that are unnatural in

real life but look perfect from the camera's perspective, like positioning them
closer or at odd angles to capture both faces.
On film -
Eyeline Cheating: Adjusting actors' gazes so they appear to be looking at each
other or a specific point, even if the camera placement makes direct eye contact
impossible.
Height Cheating: Using apple boxes or other risers to elevate actors or objects to
improve framing and visibility.
Lighting Optimization: Moving actors into better light or avoiding shadows,
which might mean positioning them differently than a natural conversation would
dictate.
Continuity Tricks (Swapping): Shooting one side of a conversation, then
swapping actors (or just their positions) for the other side without moving the
camera or lights, saving time
intertextuality
 film borrowing, referencing, or alluding to another work, including other films,
books, or art form
 Referencing and allusion: Filmmakers intentionally or unintentionally include
references to other works, from direct quotes to subtle visual cues like a shot that
mimics a famous painting.
 Adaptation: Films can be adaptations of literature, which is a direct form of
intertextuality, like screen versions of Shakespeare or "Gulliver's Travels".
 Genre and style borrowing: A film can borrow narrative structures, themes,
or motifs from other films in different genres or from a previous era.
 Remakes and parodies: Remaking a film or creating a parody that mimics
another work
Benefits of intertextuality on film
Enriches meaning: Intertextuality adds layers of meaning that go beyond the on-
screen narrative, rewarding viewers who recognize the references.
Shapes interpretation: A viewer's understanding of a new film is shaped by their
knowledge of the previously existing texts it references.
Influences creation:This concept influences how films are made, received, and
critiqued, as filmmakers draw on established cinematic language and cultural
knowledge.
Creates a cultural dialogue: It fosters a "dialogue between films," showing how
cinema evolves and connects with audiences through a shared, evolving web of
cultural references
novelization
A novelization converts a story from a different medium into a novel.
 It can include original material, expanding on the plot or characters' inner thoughts that may not
be in the visual source.

 Novelizations can act as a companion to a film, allow fans to relive a story, or expand the universe
of a franchise.

 The practice has been around since the early days of cinema and is sometimes seen as a marketing
tool, though it can be considered a unique genre in its own right.

Examples:
 Common examples include books based on blockbuster movies, video games, and comic books,
such as novelizations of Terminator 2
NARRATOLOGY IN FILM
 the scientific study of narrative structure and storytelling in movies
I. how stories are built (plot, characters, time, space)
II. how cinematic techniques (editing, camera angles, sound, focalization) shape our
understanding and emotional response, moving beyond just literature to
encompass visual language, helping us deconstruct filmmaking and appreciate its
artistic depth.
III. It examines core elements like focalization (who sees/hears what), narrative
frequency, and space, applying theories from literary structuralists (Propp,
Todorov) to film's unique visual and auditory gramma
NARRATOLOGY ON FILM
 In most films that adopt the classical paradigm, sequences often seamlessly
transition to the next, producing a coherent and smooth flow of action and a sense
of inevitability.
 To add intensity and urgency to the conflict, some sort of deadline is imposed on
the characters to intensify the emotion.
 Often features double plot lines. For example, in romance films, a second couple,
often the comic relief, is parallel to the main lovers.
 It is not interested in featuring passive characters (people who whom things are
done)/ rather they prefer to focus on goal-oriented characters.
REALIST NARRATIVE
 Slow beginning as it take a while for the main narrative to appear.
 The plot line has” digressions”, and they often parallel the main plot, though it isn’t
explicitly revealed.
 The implied author is not intrusive and reports objectively and avoids making
judgements
 Narrative avoids using clichés, stale conventions and predictable characters. Rather
opting for unique, and specific elements
 Prefers an exposé subject matter that has a shocking factor
 Has an anti-sentimental perspective — no happy endings and or false optimism
REALIST NARRATIVE
 Favours understatement and dedramatization over melodrama and
overexaggerationRealist filmmakers don’t believe in destiny or fate.
 They. Focus on the scientific perspective on causality and motivation
 Prefers plain, straightforward presentation of plot– no musical number
interruptions.
FORMALIST NARRATIVE – the wrong man - Hitchcock

The plot’s design is heightened rather than concealed and in fact part of
the show. Plots in formalistic films are structured depending on the
filmmaker’s theme. For instance, some of Alfred Hitchcock’s films
explore the themes of “doubles” and the “wrong man” who is falsely
accused. — such as is in his film TheWrong Man.
FORMALIST NARRATIVE
 THEME IS REARRANGED AND SCRAMBLED
NON-FICTIONAL NARRATIVE
 DOCUMENTARIES
 MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
CIRCULAR NARRATIVE
 STARTS AND ENDS AT THE BEGINNING
ROSHOMON EFFECT
REAL TIME
 NO CUTS NO INTERVENTION RUNS IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND NO
FLASHBACKS
 MEMENTO – GHAJINI
REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL
MULTIPLE TIMELINE
 DÉJÀ VU
 TERMINATOR
 DUNKIRK

 STORY LINES ARE PARALLEL

NON-LINEAR
 STORY GOES ANY SIDE – NO FORM
 CITIZEN KANE
 KILL BILL
 SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
ONEIRIC – DREAM LIKE

 uses dream-like aesthetics to display stories revolving around dreams, human

consciousness and memories
Fabula/Syuzhet
 Fabula is the story in the chronological order of events while, Syuzhet (plot) refers
to how the story is told, specifically what element the filmmaker chooses to relate
those events and tell the story

 Eg. Kill Bill

Adaptation in Western tradition
 Transfer stories from books to celluloid
 Silent films
 Common across cultures
 Western films – known for excess expressions and individual heroic feats
 Eastern films – known for subtlety but has changed since the 1980s
 Glocalization – India emulation of Western films
East vs West films and adaptations
Subtlety expressive

Atmosphere Good vs evil philosophies

Collective consciousness Plot and indiviudal achieevement

Slow pace Fast action

Rural settings Urban and upper urban

Slow music Emotional music intrusive

Togetherness Individuality
Cinematography & Editing

 Western: Character-focused
dramatic lighting
quicker cuts to propel plot
 Eastern: Harmony with environment
natural light
slower
meditative edits
allows scenes to explore and take breaks
HORROR films in West and East
Western Horror: jump scare
gore
clear threats (monsters, etc )
Eastern Horror:
Focuses more on psychological angst
atmosphere
ghosts
the unseen
often with a melancholic or tragic feel
Historicial and contemporary practices in western
and indian contexts
Democracy
Technology
Education
Family values & Societal values
Individuality and loneliness
Tradition
Festivals
Secular thinking
Spiritual emptiness
Religion
Governance
Syncretic culture
Tradition vs modernity
CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARSHIP AND EVOLVING
THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN ADAPTATION STUDIES
 SHIFT FROM MULTIDEMSIONAL, MULTIDIRECTIONAL TEXTS TO PROVE
FIDELITY
------------------------
Fidelity Criticism || Intertextuality || Adaptation as Interpretation ||
Adaptation as Rewriting
1. FOCUS NOW IS ON WHAT IS TO GAIN
2. narratives flow across a pluralism of media, including games, theme parks, and digital
platforms, rather than just from book to film
3. DIALOGICAL PROCESS – interaction not only with source text but also other
adaptations, other texts making the story telling more complex
4. Culture studies expansion ( technological infusion, culture changes, power shifts, social
interactions, social values and political attitudes)
Adaptation
Charlie Kaufman’s struggles to adapt Susan Orlean’s non-fiction book “The Orchid
Thief.”
complex and introspective work into a cinematic narrative
Questioning fidelity
“Adaptation feasts on the book’s interiority—the blood of the writing—and replaces
it with strained (not dramatic) incidents.”
tension between preserving the essence of a literary work and the demands of
cinematic storytelling
Criticizes filmakers who make the film from a book
“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (2001-2003)
- "politics of adaptation," examining how adaptations can serve as critiques,
revisions, or reinforcements of social hierarchies
- Linda Hutcheon - "fertility discourse," drawing parallels to biological evolution
to explain how stories adapt and flourish in new environments
- “adaptation research design” where theories are open to change
- Shifted towards multidisciplinary, trans-disciplinary, interdisciplinary studies
Influencers in adaptation studies
 Linda Hutcheon: popularized the shift toward viewing adaptation as a creative
process rather than a secondary product

Thomas Leitch: challenged traditional academic approaches to the field.

Julie Sanders: focuses on the intertextual and ethical dimensions of borrowing from
existing texts.
Audience in adaptation studies
 “knowingness,” which refers to the audience’s familiarity with the source material.
 Sound and Music in Adaptation